Things That Go Bump In The Night
by Mrs O-Town
Summary: Things get serious when Brooke goes missing during a night out on Halloween. BLNH with NL and BH friendship, set midseason 1. Written for Cari as part of the OTH Fic Exchange.


**Title - ****Things That Go Bump In The Night**

**Rating - **T

**Pairing **– Nathan/Lucas and Brooke/Haley friendship.  
**Seasons **- Mid Season 1 (_Around With Arms Outstretched / You Gotta Go There To Come Back_).

**Author's Notes –** Written for Cari as part of the OTH Fic Exchange. She wanted NL and BH friendship in season 1 and set at Halloween, including the phrases below. I hope she likes it! I tried my best to make it spooky.  
**Phrases: **  
"Put that thing down before you hurt yourself!"  
"I dreamt about spiders on rollerskates once."  
"Our kids will be so beautiful."

**Disclaimer –** I don't own anything. At all. Really. If I did, then Brooke would be with Nathan, Lucas would not be a manwhore, Haley would be Brooke's best friend and Peyton will shut the hell up – and OTH fans will live in harmony.

**----------**

"Miss Davis?" Whitey's booming voice interrupted Brooke's thoughts. She frowned momentarily at having been pulled out of her very enjoyable daydream involving herself, Lucas and a pair of handcuffs. She was tempted to shoot the old man a dirty look but instead she gave the coach a bright smile.

"Yes, Coach Durham?" she asked sweetly.

"Have you been listening to anything I've been saying in the last five minutes?" he questioned, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for her answer.

"Of course!" Brooke kept her confident smile as she sent urgent 'help me' vibes to her boyfriend sitting next to her. Lucas discreetly cocked his head towards the blackboard where the words 'Tree Hill Annual 'Trick Or Treat' Exchange' were written.

"You were talking about Tree Hills Annual 'Trick Or Treat Exchange'" she answered happily. Whitey looked confused at first but when he turned to see the blackboard, he realized what had just happened.

"You got lucky," he grumbled slightly and cast a look at both Brooke and Lucas who gave him innocent looks. He had to admit that at first he was apprehensive of their coupling. He'd heard of Brooke's party-girl reputation and worried that shy Lucas would be in too deep. But over the last week, he had been pleasantly surprised to see the two of them seem comfortable with each other.

With the exception of Lucas' drunken tattoo, he was confident that the two of them would be good for one another. Hopefully Brooke would help Lucas come out of his shell a little more, and Lucas could help calm Brooke down. Whitey was often frustrated with his basketball team drooling over the outgoing cheerleader during games. Now Brooke was dating the newest member of the team, it was only Lucas who was getting distracted.

He glanced at the other unlikely couple that had sprung up the same time as Brooke and Lucas.

Nathan and Haley.

Whitey shook his head. Who would have thought that the bad boy of Tree Hill would hook up with his tutor? Especially since said tutor was best friends with Nathan's estranged brother, Lucas.

It was definitely a tangled web.

"As you all know," Whitey continued, "This Friday is Halloween. Every year Tree Hill High's junior class volunteers to escort children from Tree Hill Elementary. Well, this year, you're the juniors."

Brooke raised her hand.

"Miss Davis?"

"I can't do it because Bevin's parents are having a Halloween party and she totally needs me there-"

"This is a mandatory requirement so you all better cancel any plans you have for Friday." Groans resounded through the room but they were cut by Whitey's voice as he pulled up a sheet of paper. "You'll all be paired up and assigned a group of six children that you'll be responsible for between 6pm to 9pm. There will be _no_ 'Hide and Seek' games, and I do not want parents calling me up to complain their children were cheated out of candy. You are their chaperones and will stick to those children like glue."

"Can we pick our partners?" Brooke asked.

"No," Whitey replied, continuing, "Each pair will be given an assigned route with participating houses in Tree Hill. You will pick the children up from THES' school gym and drop them off there at precisely 9pm. If there are any problems, you must call one of the supervising teachers who will come to your assistance. Questions?"

Brooke raised her hand.

"Why can't we choose our partners?"

"Because we've already paired you up randomly out of a hat - along with your costume requirements." Whitey began reading out the list. There were some nods of agreement and some groans as they were called out.

"Brooke Davis… and Haley James," Whitey announced handing them both a slip of paper detailing their costumes. Lucas leant over Brooke's shoulder to see what it was.

"Angel?" Brooke raised an eyebrow and glanced at Haley, whose own paper read 'Devil'. Brooke pouted slightly at being paired up with someone who was not Lucas or Peyton and being given such a lame costume.

"Hey, don't worry," Lucas comforted, "At least it'll give you a chance to know Haley a little better. And it could be worse."

"I guess," Brooke conceded, "Although I'm suddenly very curious to see who your partner is."

On cue, Whitey approached Lucas, "Lucas Scott… and Nathan Scott."

The room became silent as they all watched to see the brothers' reactions. Nathan shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Lucas opted to look at Whitey in desperation.

"All pairings are final," Whitey reminded them as he handed them their pieces of paper.

Brooke looked over Lucas' shoulder this time to read his costume.

"The Blues Brothers?" she read aloud giving Lucas a look. "Random my ass," she commented.

Haley raised her hand, "Can we switch partners?" she queried. Whitey shook his head.

"Pairings are final, and assigned boy-boy, girl-girl. We don't want people leaving their charges to sneak off and make out behind the bushes," he looked directly at Brooke and Lucas.

"Well, I don't know about _that_," Brooke winked jokingly towards Haley, who blushed bright red and had to stop herself from letting out a giggle. Whitey ignored Brooke's comment.

"Now remember, this is a mandatory assignment and those who do not turn up or behave inappropriately will not be allowed to attend the Winter Formal." The bell rang and Lucas grinned at Brooke's pout as everyone else packed up.

"Can you believe this?" she questioned, "Our first holiday together and we can't even spend it together." Lucas replied by rubbing her arms comfortingly and dropping a kiss on her forehead.

"Don't worry. We can meet up later. But, uh, could you do me a favor and be nice to Hales?" he winced as Brooke opened her mouth in surprise.

"I'm always nice," she told him. He nodded.

"Yes, but I think she's under the impression you don't like her."

"Hey, I'm totally the reason she's with Nathan right now. If I didn't fix them up on that date then they would still be dancing around their feelings." Lucas nodded and agreed with his girlfriend.

"Yeah, but still… could you just make an effort to get to know her? I'll tell her the same thing."

Fine, Broody, but if she wishes me under a bus again…"

"She won't. I promise." Lucas grinned and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I'll see you after school."

------

Haley tugged at her red leather pants as she tried to stop them from riding up. She wondered how anybody could wear such tight clothing without being uncomfortable.

"Hey Tutor Devil," a voice from behind said. Haley spun around to see a very sexy looking angel. Brooke grinned as she twirled for her partner; feathery wings sprouted from the back of her whiter-than-white leather catsuit. The costume was completed with silver body glitter and a halo propped on her brunette hair.

"Wow, Brooke," Haley said, "I didn't think angels were that-"

"Sexy?" Brooke prompted.

"Well that's one way of putting it." Haley said. Brooke studied Haley's costume.

"I got you a gift," Brooke handed Haley a bag filled with heaps of red tissue paper that Haley had to dig beneath to find her present. "Just to complete your outfit." Brooke continued as Haley pulled it out.

"A whip?" she asked incredulously.

"No devil should be without it."

"I thought devils carried pitchforks," Haley thrust hers as an example in front of Brooke's face.

"This plastic thing?" Brooke grabbed it from Haley and threw it aside, "A whip is so much better." The brunette's expression told the other girl that there was no use in arguing.

"Thanks, Brooke," Haley gave in, "It's very thoughtful."

"Good. Now that is done, let's go pick up our brats." She took hold of Haley's arm and dragged her to where Whitey was trying to keep his eye on several scores of pint-sized children dressed as witches, monsters, fairies and other costumes.

"A little busy there aren't ya, Coach?" Brooke asked with a wicked grin. Whitey's eyes narrowed on the girl and shifted towards his clipboard.

"Miss Davis, Miss James. Nice of you both to show up."

"Well it's for the kids," Brooke smiled widely, "And you couldn't get the party started without this year's Winter Queen, right?"

"Right," Whitey scanned his piece of paper and came to a stop about midway, "Okay, you both are in charge of group six." He pointed to where four girls and two boys stood nearby, perfectly content talking to one another.

"Great!" Brooke exclaimed dragging Haley in the direction of their group. The kids, ages no older than seven, glanced up at the two, clutching their candy bags tightly. "Hey kids," she leant in close to them, "You all ready to paint this town red?"

The six children just looked at her with blank expressions. Brooke sighed deeply and looked over at Haley. "I give up."

Haley looked at the six hopeful and innocent faces and laughed nervously, "Uh… who's ready to get some candy?" Her comment was met by enthusiastic cheers and Haley chuckled with satisfaction as she led the group out of the gym, Brooke trailing behind.

"Oh sure, _now_ you want candy… but wait until they hit puberty and it'll all be about egging and TP-ing Principal Turner's house."

------

"Put that thing down before your hurt yourself," Lucas told one of the kids who was trying to steal a lit Jack o' Lantern.

"Dude, relax," Nathan sighed in exasperation at his half-brother's continual nagging, "Let him do what he wants." Nathan proved his point by picking one up himself.

Lucas frowned, "We're supposed to be looking after these kids, Nathan. Not teaching them how to steal."

"If we were – you could do a better job than I could. After all, you did steal my position on the team." Nathan said bitterly.

"I didn't steal anything. Whitey gave that spot to me because you were worthless. I bet it if were any other guy on the team, you wouldn't be giving him such a hard time."

"Stop thinking everything is about you, Lucas. I've worked my butt off to get where I am and you swoop in and take everything, and then complain because I don't like you?" Nathan scoffed before taking on a high, mocking tone, "'Ooh, Nathan's mean', 'Ooh, Nathan does want me on the team', 'Ooh, Nathan took Haley'. Give me a break."

"Haley's my best friend. The only reason I'm being somewhat civilized to you is because she does want us to fight. I'm not too thrilled about you dating her, especially after the way you treated Peyton." Lucas said.

"So?"

"So, if you hurt Haley, I'm going to kick your ass. She's like a sister to me and I won't have anyone treating her like crap."

"Oh, like you're treating Brooke like crap?" Nathan challenged.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know what I mean. One minute you're all about Peyton and how she should be with you, and the next minute you're dating her best friend? You better know what you're doing."

"What's your point? So I'm over Peyton, she and I will never work out. And Brooke? She's just-"

"Fun? An easy lay?" Nathan cocked an eyebrow up, "All I know is that I like Brooke. Yeah, she's a little hard to take sometimes, but I've seen guys just use her. She acts like it doesn't bother her and everything's okay, but Brooke isn't the person everyone thinks she is. You should be finding that out by now – and if you haven't, then you will. Brooke cares about her friends, and they care about her too. You hurt her and _I'll_ kick your butt."

"I didn't know you were so close," Lucas couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

"We're not really. But she's my ex-girlfriend's best friend, and our Head Cheerleader. I'd hate to see what she could do with pom-poms when she's mad." Nathan said before he looked around. "Come on, we'll do the Wilkerson estate next."

"I thought we'd go down to the Rivercourt area first. It's easier to come back around," Lucas pointed in the opposite direction.

"Yeah, well I want to go check out the new sports store," Nathan argued.

"But we have an assigned route we're supposed to stick to. The Wilkerson estate comes after the Rivercourt." Lucas pointed to the map.

"Like we have to stick to that," Nathan shook his head, "Look, I'm going this way."

"I'm going the way we're _supposed _to go," Lucas stood his ground.

"Fine." Nathan began walking away.

"Are you just going to leave all the kids with me?" Lucas pointed to the six children watching the brothers argue with interest.

"I'll take three of them." Nathan suggested.

"We're not supposed to split up." Lucas reminded him.

"And who's going to know? We'll meet up just before we head back to the gym and Whitey will never need to know. We'll be much happier apart and the kids can get their candy. Deal?" Nathan held out his hand and Lucas hesitated before shaking it quickly.

"Deal. We'll meet at the school entrance at five to nine." Lucas told Nathan, who nodded and took three of the kids along with him.

Lucas watched the retreating figure and shook his head. He knew that they'd be much happier apart but he also was saddened that the two brothers couldn't even spend an evening together.

------

"Our kids will be so beautiful," Brooke mused as she, Haley and their charges walked down the street. "Although I hope they don't do that squinting thing Lucas does. He does have great eyes." Haley tried to stop herself from screaming. Since they'd left the gym forty-five minutes ago, all Brooke had talked about was Lucas, their relationship and pumping Haley for information on him when they were younger.

Haley had been happy to oblige but there was only so much she needed to hear about Lucas and Brooke's sexual relationship. She made a mental note to scrub out her mind when she got home.

"So have you and Nathan had sex yet?" Brooke asked bluntly. Haley motioned to the kids they had with them in shock.

"Brooke! They're only seven!"

"So?" Brooke seemed unfazed, "I learnt about sex when I was 6. Kind of because I walked in on my parents getting it on. And later my mom and the pool boy." Haley made a face.

"Why are you not in therapy?" Brooke shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess that kind of stuff never bothered me. My parents never paid much attention to me, so I don't really pay much attention to what they did. Anyway, once I found out all about it, I told Peyton and you should have seen her face. She ran straight up to her parents and looked at them in disgust." Brooke laughed. "So, have you and Nathan-"

"No, and I don't plan to until I'm married."

"Wow," Brooke seemed to think about it, "And Nathan is okay with this?" Haley nodded. "Well you must be satisfying him somehow. Unless he's getting his kicks elsewhere." After a glare from Haley, Brooke quickly apologized.

"Nathan's fine about it. He said he'll wait until I was ready and I fully trust him." Haley said firmly, pushing the doubts out of her mind.

"That's cool. I hope it works out for you." Brooke said with a nod, although Haley was sure she could hear some skepticism in her voice.

Haley smiled slightly as they passed another group of kids. "I dreamt about spiders on rollerskates once." Brooke arched an eyebrow at her as the two turned into another driveway, their group following behind. "Sorry, I thought I should change the subject."

Brooke shrugged as she pressed the doorbell, "Okay, I get your point. No more talking about Lucas and Nathan. I wonder if anyone's dead yet." she mused.

"Trick or treat!" Brooke, Haley and the group of kids said happily to the elderly couple who opened their door. While the couple generously dished out treats to the children, Brooke watched with a grin on her face. Haley looked at Brooke.

At first, she'd wondered why the hell Lucas had chosen to hook up with someone so different from him. Of course, the whole sex issue and Lucas being a horny guy was the answer to that one – but she was mostly surprised by the fact they were _dating_. It wasn't just the casual hook-up she'd heard Brooke usually dealt with.

In the last week or so that they'd been dating, Haley had noticed Lucas was the happiest he'd been since he joined the team and found out about her and Nathan; and she had to admit that a lot of that had been thanks to Brooke.

Once they'd finished taking as much candy as they could from the couple, Brooke led the children back onto the street, heading across the road. Haley just followed them, not wanting to be left behind and it wasn't until she noticed exactly where they were heading when she realized that they had wondered far off their course.

"Uh, Brooke… where are we going?" Haley asked.

"Just somewhere more Halloween-y," Brooke replied without even bothering to look back at the anxious Haley.

"I really don't think that's such a good idea." Haley warned.

"It'll be fun. We'll be there in no time." Brooke promised.

A little while later, they came to a stop outside a familiar looking gate. Haley shook her head.

"Oh, no. No, no, no and a whole bag of stinking 'no way's," Haley said, "We are not going in there."

Brooke sighed, "Yes we are."

"No, we're not because it's not on the map." Haley held it up, "If it's not on the map, we're not going."

"Forget about the stupid map and let's go in," Brooke's eyes twinkled with excitement.

"Uh, no. I'm not taking seven year olds into a graveyard on Halloween!" Haley hissed.

"Why are you whispering, Haley? They can't hear you," she pointed out. "Anyway, it's not up to you, it's up to them." Brooke pointed down at the kids. "Who wants to be braver than Tutor Girl and go into the graveyard for some ghost stories?"

"Brooke, they're nev-"

"Yay!" the kids seemed to be excited about the prospect of spending an evening with a bunch of dead bodies.

"Okay then," Brooke opened the gate and the children filed through, leaving Haley on the other side. "Coming?" Brooke asked. Haley shook her head.

"Not even if you paid me."

"Seven year olds are braver than you," Brooke huffed. "Plus, tonight you're the devil – shouldn't you be the one leading them into the darkness?"

"This isn't even ethical. What if they have nightmares?" Brooke shrugged.

"So they wet the bed a few weeks longer than usual, it's not like it's going to cost them a lifetime of therapy. It's only a graveyard."

"Yes, but it is Halloween. Everyone knows you're not supposed to go into graveyards on Halloween."

"Fine, don't come. I'll be with the kids; you can stand here alone and in the dark." Brooke began to walk away. With a sigh and a quick 'please don't let me die', Haley followed and caught up with Brooke.

Fishing around in her purse, Haley pulled out a tiny blue flashlight she kept for emergencies. Brooke laughed.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's an emergency flashlight."

"For who? Midgets? That itty bitty thing isn't going to help anyone," Brooke said looking at the minuscule beam of light illuminating from it.

"Where are the kids?" Haley asked, her flashlight wondering around the graveyard. only recognizing some of the children.

"I don't know. Probably around somewhere."

Haley hit Brooke on the arm, "Don't be so brazen about it. What if we lose one?"

"Okay, first, ow!" Brooke glared, "Second, I don't know what the hell 'brazen' means, and if we lose one, we'll find them. It's a graveyard. It's not exactly like they can go far. Plus, I think they're playing a game anyway." Brooke told Haley as they saw small figures running around and ducking under headstones. "They'll be okay for 15 minutes."

"Miss Brooke?" a young girl tugged on Brooke's wings.

"Yes Miranda?" Broke said proud that she had such good children-skills.

"My name is Amanda."

"Whatever. What's the matter?" Brooke asked, silently hoping she didn't want a bathroom break.

"We were playing 'Dead Bodies' and something happened to Lisa." Amanda told them. Brooke and Haley exchanged a look.

"What happened?"

"She fell down a big hole. It's real deep and she can't get out." Haley let out a cry of disbelief.

"Oh my gosh!" Haley began to panic. Brooke looked around the barely-lit graveyard.

"Can you show us where she is?" Amanda nodded and Brooke turned to Haley.

"Okay, Tutor Girl, don't get so worked up. I'm sure she's fine. We'll just pull her out of there and everything will be okay."

Haley just stared wide-eyed at Brooke, who pulled her by the arm and followed Amanda to an open grave.

"She's in there," Amanda pointed down but then frowned, "At least she was."

"What are you talking about?" Brooke asked as she looked down pointing Haley's little flashlight at the grave, which barely showed them anything. "Hello?" she called. When there was no answer, Brooke looked around the graveyard.

"Ok, I think we're in trouble now. Are you sure this is where Lisa was?" Amanda nodded. Brooke thought for a moment, "Haley, you climb into the grave and see if she's there; I'll round up the rest of the kids."

"Why me?" Haley asked, really not looking forward to being in an open, empty grave on a night like this.

"Because I'm wearing white and I'll get mud on me," Brooke pointed out. Haley shot her a look.

"Is that the only reason? Brooke! This is your fault. You get into the grave. I'll get the rest of the children."

Brooke reluctantly agreed and shed her wings, handing them to Haley so they wouldn't get dirty. Haley watched Brooke jumped down and look around the six foot deep hole.

"I can't see anything," Brooke said. "Are you sure she's missing?"

The rest of the children began coming back and crowding around, wondering what was going on. Haley counted exactly five heads. One was definitely missing.

"Wait! I found something," Brooke exclaimed as her foot hit something. Haley peeked down as she watched Brooke bend down and pick something up.

"It's her candy bag. That's all."

Haley sighed, "Brooke, I really don't like this."

"Relax, Tutor Girl, we'll find her." Brooke reassured. The group began calling Lisa's name and wondering around the graveyard for ten minutes before they realized it was no use.

"Brooke, what are we going to do now?" Haley asked. "We're going to be in so much trouble."

"Do you have your cellphone on you?"

"Yeah, why?" Haley asked as she handed it over. Brooke gave her a look.

"Because we can call Lucas, duh!" Brooke dialed in Lucas' number and waited for it to pick up, "He'll totally come."

"Hello?" Lucas said on the other end.

"Broody, Haley and I need your help."

"Okay, what's up?"

"We lost one of the girls."

"What!"

"Well, we went to the graveyard and she fell into this empty grave but when we looked, she wasn't there and no we can't find her." Brooke explained quickly. "Do you think you could come over and help us?"

"Sure Brooke, but I'm all the way across town." Lucas said looking around his surroundings. "Maybe Nathan will be closer."

"Aren't you together?"

"Uh… no, we split up. Look, um, call Nathan and ask where he is. I'm on my way anyway, but it may take me a while to get there. Just stay put. Don't go anywhere."

"Okay." Brooke hung up and began looking for Nathan's number. "We're calling Nathan," she explained to Haley. "Everything will be fine."

"Hey Nathan, it's Brooke. We have a big problem!" Brooke said.

"What kind of problem?"

"Well we're at t-" there were several loud beeps and then nothing. Brooke looked at the phone and couldn't see anything. "What happened?" she asked.

"My battery!" Haley cried, "I forgot to charge it up before coming out."

"Urgh!" Brooke groaned. "Lucas is going to take a while coming and Nathan doesn't even know where we are."

"What about your phone?" Haley asked.

Brooke motioned to her costume, "This outfit doesn't have any pockets. I handed it to Lucas."

"So we're screwed," Haley sighed.

"Not exactly," Brooke thought for a moment, "I remember passing a payphone. Do you have any quarters?" Haley nodded and handed some to Brooke. "I'll go call Nathan or somebody. Stay here and wait for Lucas."

"You shouldn't go on your own," Haley reminded her.

"I'll be fine," Brooke said with a big grin, but it faltered slightly. Haley could see she was trying to be brave. "I'll be ten minutes, if that."

With a quick wave, Brooke began jogging out of the graveyard, leaving a scared and frightened Haley alone with five children in a graveyard.

------

Nathan redialed Haley's number but groaned when the words 'The number you have dialed cannot be reached. Please try again later' was heard for the eighth time. Nathan gave up momentarily but remembered that Brooke would probably have her cellphone on her. He searched for her number on his phone and pressed the 'call' button, waiting until it picked up.

"Hello?" a male voice answered.

"Brooke?" Nathan questioned.

"No, it's Lucas." Nathan sighed to himself.

"Oh."

"What's up?" Lucas asked.

"I was trying to get in touch with Brooke. Is she there?"

"No, I'm on my way to meet her and Haley though. Something happened. They lost one of their kids."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. They were trying to call you."

"Yeah, but they got cut off."

"Where are you? I'm on my way to the graveyard, that's where they are. I'm still at least ten minutes away. Are you closer?"

"Uh… I think so. Meet you there?" Nathan suggested, even though he had no clue where the said graveyard was. He'd never really been there.

"Okay, but if you hear anything or find them call Brooke's phone again."

"Sure." Nathan hung up and looked at his troop. "So, which one of you knows where the graveyard is?"

Nathan managed to find his way to the main entrance of the graveyard just as Lucas and his group of kids arrived.

"Hey," Nathan greeted. "You just get here?" Lucas nodded.

"Heard anything?" Nathan shook his head. "We'd better get to the girls."

They walked in and looked around, spying a faint beam of light nearby. The two boys went towards it, making out a familiar figure.

"Haley?" Nathan said.

"Nathan?" Haley's voice seemed to pick up, "Thank god you're here."

"Are you okay? Where's Brooke?" Lucas asked as Haley ran straight into their arms.

"I don't know. She went to the payphone to call one of you but she never came back. Did she get in touch?" The two boys shook their heads.

"How long ago did she leave?"

"About fifteen minutes ago. She said she'd only be ten minutes but we haven't seen or heard from her since. She went on her own."

Lucas frowned, "Wait. What payphone? The nearest one is twenty minutes from here."

"What?" Haley asked. "She said she passed one on the way here. I remember seeing it too. It's not five minutes from here."

"Haley, how many times have we hung out at the graveyard in the afternoon?" Lucas asked, "Do you remember any payphone?"

"Lucas, I saw a payphone." Haley insisted.

"Then let's go to the payphone." Nathan said. "She must still be there or she'd have been back by now."

"Someone should be here until she comes back."

"I'll go." Lucas proposed, "But I swear to you, there's no payphone. Nathan, you stay with Haley in case she comes back."

Nathan nodded and they watched Lucas leave.

Eight long minutes later, he came back with a sullen expression on his face.

"Well?" Haley prompted.

Lucas held up the halo she'd been wearing earlier. "I found this in the middle of the road."

"Was there a payphone?" Lucas shook his head sadly.

"There was no one else there." Lucas said quietly. "I was hoping she would have been back by now."

"Guys, I'm scared." Haley held back tears, "I want to get out of here."

Nathan hugged Haley, "Maybe if we get back to Whitey and tell him, we can get the police to find Lisa and Brooke." He suggested. "Or just drop the kids off and we can go ourselves." Lucas nodded.

"Yeah, I guess that's the… logical thing to do." He said, "Let's go."

They walked in silence watching the eleven children remaining carefully. Haley noticed how dejected and worried Lucas was, and rubbed his arm reassuringly.

"It'll be okay, Luke. We'll find Brooke again." She promised. "You know, she's strong and brave. She climbed into that grave even though it ruined her outfit," she tried to make a joke. Lucas appreciated her efforts.

Just then, they heard a loud noise go off in the distance. Their heads snapped towards it.

"What was that?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's Brooke." Lucas said.

"I'll go find out," Nathan suggested, deciding it was his turn to help out. Haley held onto his suit jacket.

"Not on your own," she urged, pulling him back.

"I'll go with him," Lucas offered. Haley looked between the two men in her life, not wanting anything to happen to either of them.

"But…" she began.

"We'll be fine, Haley. You just get the kids to safety, okay? Get them to the gym and let Whitey know." Nathan handed her Brooke's cellphone. "Use this when you get there or if you're in trouble. We'll call if we find anything."

Haley gave a nod and hugged them both tightly before ushering the children back into the direction of the school.

Nathan and Lucas looked at one another as Haley left. "You okay?" Nathan asked. Lucas shrugged.

"This is too freaky. Brooke should have been back by now or she would have called…" Lucas trailed off.

There was a moment of silence before Nathan let out a deep sigh.

"Come on, we'd better see what that noise was. What do you think it was?" he asked. Lucas shook his head.

"No idea. It sounded like a firecracker or firework going off. I didn't see any lights or anything."

"Maybe a car hit something," Nathan wondered aloud, earning a look from Lucas, "I meant like a tree or something." '_Not a body',_ Nathan thought to himself, but the thought of Brooke being hit by a car made him gulp.

The boys ventured into the direction of where they could remember hearing the noise – a nice suburban neighborhood - but there wasn't anything immediately suspicious or unusual.

"What the hell…?" Nathan asked as he viewed the scene in front of him. "Are you sure the noise came from here?"

"Positive." Lucas replied.

"So why aren't there cop cars or people around?" Nathan asked.

"I don't know!" Lucas snapped, frustrated at losing his girlfriend.

Nathan wasn't sure what to do next, but his eye spied something sticking out next to the curb.

"Hey," he said, hitting Lucas slightly to get his attention. Nathan picked the object up, "Isn't this Brooke's shoe?" Lucas inspected it and nodded slowly; the shoe now dirty and muddy in contrast to the brilliant white it was when she'd bought it.

Nathan's phone began to ring loudly, and he immediately picked it up.

"Hello?" Lucas looked with interest, hope building up inside him, "It's Haley," Nathan told Lucas.

"Ask her if-"

"Uh huh… okay. Yeah, I understand. We're on our way." Nathan hung up.

"Well?"

"She made it to the gym. All the kids are safe. Whitey's told us to get back. He's called the cops and they'll take over the search." Nathan explained.

"Maybe someone in the neighborhood saw or heard something. Maybe she's in one of these houses." Lucas suggested, not wanting to leave just yet.

"Then why hasn't she called us?" Nathan asked, "Look man, I want to find her as much as you do – but let's face it, Brooke wouldn't let us worry like this."

Lucas unwillingly agreed and followed Nathan back to the gym with a heavy heart. Nathan hesitantly patted his brother's back to comfort him, knowing that if he was in Lucas' position, he'd feel the same way.

The two walked into the school grounds, walking silently and sullenly.

"It'll be okay," Nathan reassured as they approached the school gym, "We'll talk to Whitey and tell him what we found. She'll be okay."

Lucas pushed opened the door to the gym to be faced with pitch black. "Are you sure we have the right gym?" he asked.

Nathan lifted the lights and well over a hundred faces stared back at the.

"Surprise!" they screamed as Lucas looked at them all in shock. The gym had been redecorated from the Halloween decorations to balloons and streamers; a big banner reading 'Happy birthday Lucas' hanging from the ceiling.

A familiar looking angel jumped in front of him with a grin. "Hey, Broody. Happy birthday."

"Brooke?" Lucas asked, "You… you were here?" she nodded.

"Yup." Lucas hugged her tightly.

"So you never went missing?"

"I had to get back to the gym _somehow_. Thankfully, these two kids helped me plan it all." She motioned to Haley and Nathan, who both had grins on their faces.

"You?" Lucas pointed to Nathan. "But you hate me!"

"Yeah, I know. But Haley loves you and I love Haley – and I was kind of threatened into it by Brooke." Brooke giggled.

"Sorry we had to do it this way, but there was no other way of doing it. And you'll be pleased to know that Lisa is safe too." She added. "So, surprised?"

Lucas grinned and kissed her, "Yeah."

"Good," she replied, "Then you're going to _love_ your presents."

**The End**


End file.
